2013-2017 Published on the occasion of the 17th International Congress of Speleology WHAT IS NEW SINCE 2013? ISBN: 978-83-930259-6-1 Luo Shui Kong Cave (China). Photo Mateusz Golicz Komin w Ratuszu Litworowym Cave (Tatra Mts, Poland). Photo Renata Kisielewska Zimna Cave (Tatra Mts, Poland). Photo Jakub Nowak Luo Shui Kong Cave (China). Photo Mateusz Golicz Interesting Cave (Hagengebirge, Austria). Photo Jakub Nowak Nord. Kuchelnieder Eishöhle Cave (Leoganger Steinberge, Austria) • Photo Michał Ciszewski From the editor It is with great pleasure that we present this special volume entitled “Polish Caving 2013–2017”, pub- lished on the occasion of the 17th International Con- gress of Speleology. The aim of the publication is to communicate the main achievements of Polish cav- ers over the last four years. Spectacular results were achieved by Krzysztof Starnawski in 2016 in the Czech Republic, where 2013-2017 Hranicka Propast became the deepest underwater Published on the occasion of the 17th International Congress of Speleology cave in the world with a depth of 404 m. K. Star- nawski also broke the world record in cave diving on a closed circuit rebreather (CCR) in Viroit Cave (–278 m), Albania. Contents In the Alps, a team of Polish cavers has been Caves in Poland exploring Interesting Cave in the Hagengebirge mas- Michał Gradziński and Ditta Kicińska 4 sif since 2006. Today, the cave is 19 032 m long and has a depth of 639 m. The expeditions to nearby Ho- Caving organizations in Poland her Göll were focused on connecting Gruberhorn- Ditta Kicińska 7 höhle Cave with Hochschartehöhlensystem and ex- Cave rescue in Poland – GRJ ploration of Gamssteighöhle Cave, where our cavers Ewelina Raczyńska 8 discovered more than 1.9 km of new passages and Foundation and activeness of the Speleological Section of the Polish deepened the cave to –444.5 m. In the Leoganger Steinberge massif, the main findings took place in Copernicus Society of Naturalists and Speleological Symposia the CL-3 Cave System and Drachenhöhle Cave. Janusz Baryła 9 Exploration was also carried on in Jack Daniel’s Cave Exploration in Poland 2012–2016 in the Tennengebirge mountains. Jakub Nowak 10 More and more expeditions have been system- atically visiting karst massifs in the Balkans. In the Hranicka Propast – step beyond 400 metres 1997–2016 Prokletije Mts ca. 7 500 m of new passages were sur- Ilona Łęcka and Krzysztof Starnawski 12 veyed (Górnicza Cave, now 585 m deep). In the Viroit Cave Maganik massif, important discoveries occurred in Krzysztof Starnawski and Ditta Kicińska 15 M35 and Zoran Jama Cave, now respectively 110 m and 550 m deep. Shpella Sportive (–264.3 m deep), Hagengebirge, Austria – Interessante Höhle a cave explored by Polish cavers in the Albanian Alps, Marek Wierzbowski 16 became the fifth deepest cave in Albania. Further- Hoher Göll more, many small teams of divers went to Albania, Mareusz Golicz 19 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. Other exploration undertakings run by Polish cav- Polish exploration in the Leoganger Steinberge massif ers were also continued in the Picos de Europa Andrzej Ciszewski and Michał Ciszewski 23 (Spain) and Kanin (Slovenia). Speleoklub Bobry in caves of Tennengebirge 2012–2016 Outside Europe, the most spectacular Polish Rajmund Kondratowicz 26 project is currently going on in China. During five expeditions in recent years, approx. 44 km of new Cave exploration in the Prokletije Mountains (Montenegro) cave passages were surveyed and mapped. One of Krzysztof Najdek and Ditta Kicińska 29 the explored caves begins with an enormous, 320 m Exploration in Maganik, Montenegro 2012–2016 deep pit, one of the largest in the world. Its estimat- Irek Królewicz 33 ed volume is 3 million m3. Closer to Poland, in Kr- Polish speleological exploration in the Albanian Alps ubera-Voronya Cave, Michał Macioszczyk checked a small “window” going up into the unknown 20 m in the years 2006–2014 below the water level (ie. at –2160 m), becoming the Magdalena Słupińska and Mariusz Polok 37 first Pole to dive in the deepest part of the cave. Picos de Europa – Western Massif (El Cornion) Meanwhile, cavers from Speleoklub Bobry Żagań Marek Jędrzejczak 39 still continue to “collect”the deepest pits of the world. Exploration in China In addition, Polish cavers participated in inter- Andrzej Ciszewski and Michał Ciszewski 44 national expeditions and took part in expeditions organized by speleological federations of other coun- First Polish dive into Dva Kapitana sump – Krubera–Voronya Cave tries to Mexico, the United States, Turkey, China, Ewelina Raczyńska and Michał Macioszczyk 48 Iran, Abkhazia, Germany, Montenegro, Bosnia and Summary of other activities 49 Herzegovina, Romania and other countries. Besides the articles on Polish achievements abroad, this issue also includes information on caves and caving organizations in Poland. We also includ- ed several short notes about Polish caving and spe- Published by: Pracownia Kreatywna Bezliku for Komisja Taternictwa Jaskiniowego leological activities, and celebration of the 50th Ju- Polskiego Związku Alpinizmu (Caving Committee of Polish Mountaineering Association), bilee of the Speleological Symposium. ul. Corazziego 5/24, 00-087 Warszawa Ditta Kicińska Editor: Ditta Kicińska Translation: Natalia Biegała, Mateusz Golicz, Anthony Moult, Ewelina Raczyńska Layout and design: Paulina Szelerewicz-Gładysz, Pracownia Kreatywna Bezliku Front cover: Viroit Cave (Albania). Photo Krzysztof Starnawski th PolishISBN Caving 978-83-930259-6-1 2013–2017 • Published on the occasion of the 17 International Congress of Speleology 3 Poland ers came back in 2007. The resumed explora- tion soon brought the length of 2275 m. Prob- Caves in Poland ably it is now the longest non-karstic cave in Central Europe. The exploration has not been Michał Gradziński and Ditta Kicińska finished yet. New discoveries in Salmopolska Cave extended its length from 175 m to 1009.5 m. Some chambers are quite spacious as for There are more than 5200 known caves in Pieniny Klippen Belt caves of this origin. Poland. They are of karst and non-karst (pseu- (Pieniński pas skałkowy) dokarst) origin. The former are develo- In this area resistant Mesozoic limestones Kraków – Wieluń Upland ped in karstic rocks, mainly limestones and build up isolated klippen surrounded by non- (Wyżyna Krakowsko-Wieluńska) dolomites, rarely in gypsum and marbles and karstic rocks. There are more than 90 caves exceptionally in rock salt. Although the karst- in this area. Although all these caves are in This area occupies about 2500 km2. Nowa- ified rocks are widely distributed, the outcrops limestones, most of them are of non-karstic days there are more than 2261 known caves. are rather small and occupy only about 2.5% (pseudokarst) origin. The longest cave is Jas- Almost all of them are developed in Upper of the country area (i.e., about 8000 km2). kinia w Ociemnem, which is 196 m long and Jurassic limestones. Only a few occur in Low- Most of the country is covered with loose 47.5 m deep. er Carboniferous limestones and Middle Cainozoic deposits. The non-karstic caves are Triassic limestones and dolomites. Wierna developed mainly in sandstones. The eight Beskidy Mts Cave, which was explored in 1990 is the lon- main regions of cave occurrence in Poland are (Beskidy) gest cave in the Kraków-Wieluń Upland. It is characterized below. 1027 m long. The caves of this area are main- Tatra Mountains The Beskidy Mts are built of Cretaceous- ly horizontal, the deepest is Jaskinia Studni- (Tatry) Paleogene flysch – sandstones and shales. sko (–77.5 m). Some caves are situated within More than 1448 caves are known there, all of protected areas (i.e., the Ojców National Park The Tatra Mountains are the only alpine non-karstic (pseudokarst) origin with sand- and the Jurassic Landscape Parks). Accessing mountains in Poland. They occupy an area of stones as the host rocks. They originated from these caves requires a special permit. Five 785 km2 (only 175 km2 in Poland). The karst- gravitational movements of rocks along caves are open for tourists and four of them ic rocks (limestones and dolomites of Triassic, cracks. The longest cave is Wiślańska Cave are lit by electricity. Niedźwiedzia Górna Cave Jurassic and Cretaceous age) build mainly the (2 275 m long, 41 m vertical extent) and the is the greatest cave discovered in the recent western part of the Tatra range. They occur deepest is Ostra-Rolling-Stones Cave System years in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. It over the area of 50 km2. This area is practi- (–60 m deep, 855 m long) in the Beskid Śląski is 540 m long and 31 m vertical extent. The cally the only region in Poland with large and Mts. Wiślańska Cave was discovered in 2003, cave entrance has been closed with a gate deep caves. Because of that fact, everyday ac- it reached the length of more than 300 m long shortly after its discovery, because of the spe- tivity of Polish cavers, both exploration and after the first year of exploration. The explor- leothem richness. training is concentrated in this area. Long life anchors were installed in the most popular caves of this region. More than 868 caves are now known in the Tatra Mountains: 837 in the Western Ta- tra Mts. and 31 caves in the High Tatra Mts. Most caves of the High Tatra Mts occur in granitoids. The total length of the Tatra caves exceeds 133.5 km. The highest outcrops of karstic rocks lie at altitudes above 2000 m and the main karst springs are situated at the lev- el of about 1000 m. Most caves are located in the following areas: slopes of the Bobrowiec, Kominiarski Wierch, Kościeliska Valley, Cz- erwone Wierchy, Giewont, Kalacka Turnia and Kopa Magury-Zawrat Kasprowy massif. The longest and deepest caves are situated mainly in the Czerwone Wierchy massif.